Highschool, Boys, and Magic
by dusty-kittens
Summary: Highschool AU Lucy Heartfilia: bonerific, rich, and newest senior at Magnolia High. Lucy's first day bears fruit to new friendships with a blue-haired bookworm, a flame-brain in bromance with a stripper, two very scary-when-angry women, and a broody metal-face. Things get crazy when her new, eccentric friends bring her to the town's underground hang out...(cont inside)
1. Books and Blue Hair

Highschool AU ~|~ Lucy Heartfilia: bonerific, rich, and newest senior at Magnolia High. Lucy's first day bears fruit to new friendships with a blue-haired bookworm, a flame-brain in bromance with a stripper, two very scary-when-angry women, and a broody meta-face. Things get crazy when her new, eccentric friends bring her to the town's underground hang out where she learns that everything she's dreamed of may be closer to her reach than she ever believed.

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Hey guys, this is my first Fairy Tail fanfic, so please excuse any ooc moments. It's also my first fanfic in more than a year now I guess. It's also an AU, as noted in the summary, so I guess any ooc could be blamed on that x) Hope you enjoy the story! Please R&R, any and all constructive criticism is extremely welcomed!

**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail is not mine, the characters are not mine, Fiore is not mine, nothing is mine... *sighs sadly*

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Day One:

Lucy let her fingers drift across the spines of the books on the shelf, sighing in dissatisfaction at the small collection; most of which she had already read. At her old school, the library had been at least three times the size of this school's. An elderly woman - with badly died blonde hair - appeared around the bookcase to see if she needed help finding anything.

"Is there anything you're looking for, dear? There's a fantasy collection on the back wall, you look like someone who'd be interested in that stuff!" the librarian said with a smile.

Lucy returned the smile, "No thank you, I'm alright. I'm sure I'll find something."

The librarian nodded her head and shuffled away. Another sigh escaped Lucy's lips, _'you look like someone who'd be interested in that stuff!'_ echoed in her mind. In reality, Lucy hated most of the fantasy books, the entire genre had been ruined with _Twilight _and a never-ending series called _The House of Night_, both having completely disgraced the image of Bram Stoker's _Dracula_, and all other once-terrifying creatures of the night. The worst - to Lucy - was the amount if corny romance that was beyond reality. Instead, Lucy found interest in the stars, astrology, and history, and in a combination of the three, witchcraft.

Realizing she had let her head fall onto the bookcase, she lifted it and was startled to find a short, blue-haired girl standing beside her.

"Yeah, the school's astrology collection is pretty pathetic," she motioned to the books that Lucy had been looking at a few minutes before, "the astronomy and witchcraft collections are non-existent. There is one book though, but it's just about how many people were burned at the stake rather than the practice itself,"

Lucy didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything; disbelief was etched across her face. Made obvious by her jaw resting on the floor.

"How did I know that's what you're into? You're not the only one who's come looking for the same three subjects in this library. My name is Levy by the way, Levy McGarden.

The blunette smiled; it was a nice smile, warm and welcoming - unlike the pervy, wolfish grins of the boys or the fake, forced smiles of the other girls. Lucy decided then and there that Levy was someone she's like to get to know.

A smile on her own face, "Nice to meet you, my name is-" she started but was cut off by Levy placing a hand over her mouth.

"Lucy Heartfilia, the new girl with a hot body-" Levy's eyes quickly scanned over Lucy's body "-definitely hot body, and daughter of one of the richest men in Fiore,"

"DID YOU JUST CHECK ME OUT?!" an eep noise escaped her mouth when Levy nodded, a pervy grin on her face that was similar to the looks she had been getting from boys all morning.

She almost decided against getting to know Levy, but before she could decide the girl in question linked arms with her and started dragging her away.

"Come on Lu-chan, I'm going to introduce you to everyone else! They're like us!" excitement fueling the small girl's legs to move at almost warp speed through the hallways.

'Everyone else?!' Lucy shrieked in her head, 'that can't be _too_ bad can it?' a bead of sweat formed on her forehead, nervousness causing her to hold back a bit. It wasn't that she didn't like to meet new people, it was her first day of school that's all. She didn't think she was ready to actually _meet_ people yet; all morning she had been harassed by everyone else in the school. Boys trying to find out if she was single or get close to her body in the hallways and 'accidentally' touch her ass. Girls relentlessly asking her questions about why she switched schools, how much money her father had, who her favorite boy band was, and the more jealous girls asking her personal questions; no doubt trying to find some weakness to extort or blackmail her with.

Levy sensed the new girl's moment of unease, and slowed her own walk. Remembering that it was her first day here, and that scaring her would not improve her chances of becoming close friends with her. They reached a walking pace, and arms still linked Levy began to speak:

"Ne, Lu-chan, don't be worried. Everyone is super nice, they won't judge you. I'm sure they'll love you, I already do. You're super pretty too - not that they're going to like you just for that! They're very loud though, so don't get freaked out when we walk into the room and they're beating each other to a pulp," she grinned sheepishly, "I'm sure you've been asked a lot of questions today, but this won't be as bad as you think," and gave Lucy a comforting squeeze on her arm.

"Sorry, I'm just so overwhelmed with the attention!" Lucy smiled shyly

"Don't tell me you weren't popular at your old school and that's why you're overwhelmed!" the blunette gasped

"No no no, it wasn't that! I was popular - TOO popular! Here, I just want to be someone new! I just want to be able to sit back and relax and not be asked out every day by a different boy!" She sighed, exasperated, "It's already happening here though!"

Levy sighed, unsure of what to say. She brightened up though when she got an idea.

"How about I tell you about everyone! That way you'll know what to expect when we enter the room," excitement reanimating her eyes

"Sure, that sounds great," Lucy replied

"Okay, well first off there's Natsu. He's got pink hair - though he _insists_ it's salmon," she motioned quotation marks with her hands when she said salmon, "he's really hot-headed, always trying to pick a fight with Gray. Sometimes he puts his temper to good use when he protects his friends. A lot of the people in this school are nasty," the short girl made a funny face and plugged her nose, before giggling and continuing. "Then there's Gray, he's Natsu's best friend. Though neither of them would ever admit they're friends. Those two are like fire and ice, complete opposites. Gray is also very protective of his friends - in fact, everyone is. We're like family, nakama. We all love and protect each other, and I'm sure you'll come to be a part of the family in no time!" Levy smiled up at Lucy, and she couldn't help but smile back. The blunette was just so excited to introduce her, and all her excitement was beginning to calm Lucy's nerves, and she herself was starting to get excited.

"Gray and Natsu start fights with each other every chance they get, but you'll get used to it. Dodging chairs and tables becomes second nature around them," Levy giggled some more as Lucy's climbing excitement hit a brick wall. 'Dodging chairs and tables like second nature, I don't know if I'll ever manage that! I'll probably get hit the moment I walk in there!' she continued to hold a smile, though more forced than before.

"Don't worry about it though, Erza and Mira will pull you out of the way until you learn to just dodge it yourself! Erza and Mira keep everyone in check. Erza especially with Natsu and Gray. When she's around the two are glued to each other in a hug and turn from yelling insults at each other to yelling compliments at each other. Erza is also a senior, and one tough woman. She's very athletic, and puts all the jocks to shame! Natsu and Gray aren't the only ones deathly terrified of her though. Once, one of the super-popular girls tried to mess with Lisanna - who's Mira's younger sister - and Erza beat the girl to such a fine pulp her parents didn't have a body to bury - SHE DIDN'T ACTUALLY DIE THOUGH, SHE WAS JUST REALLY BADLY INJURED!" Levy frantically added the last part, laughing awkwardly before she continued. "Erza's favorite food is strawberry cake, and it's the only junk food she ever eats. But she eats a lot of it. So much, you almost never see her without a piece beside her or in her hand. Mira is like the mother-hen for all of us, she's also a year older, but taking a victory lap for tourism. Or so she says, I think she just wants to keep an eye on Lisanna. Especially after what happened last year, it's a long story, Mira or Lisanna will probably tell you at some point." Levy suddenly stopped, in front of them was a plain, generic classroom door, just like all the other doors in the school. The only difference was the room number, which wasn't actually a number, but rather the title plate said "FT - MO". Curiosity piqued, Lucy made a mental note to ask what it meant later.

"Well, here we are Lucy! The room where all the magic happens!" Levy said with a huge smile on her face. She let go of Lucy's arm and turned to face her, door to her back. While facing Lucy, she grabbed the door handle and readied to fall back to push the door open. Already, Lucy could hear loud clattering, yelling - something about someone's boxers, fire, and being manly - and a strong, womanly voice could be scarcely heard over the commotion. "Gray and Natsu are already at it," Levy giggled, "and it sounds like Elfman is there too! Make sure you duck when I open the door, who knows what could come flying out!"

Before Lucy could say anything, Levy turned the handle and leaned back, the sound from inside increasing dramatically as the door opened. Just as Levy had told her to do, Lucy went to duck, but was a few seconds short as a chair came flying out the door, and right into Lucy. Knocking her unconscious in the hallway. The last thing Lucy heard was Levy's voice, more yelling, and more heavy objects being scraped against the floor before she completely blacked out.


	2. Blue Bruises and Red Eyes

Chapter Two already guys, needless to say I'm excited for this story and couldn't wait to get some more of it written out and posted before I forgot! Just going to fill you in on a few more details: This is a GajeelxLucy fanfic, eventually. Which is why it's rated M. There will be subtle hints to the romance through the next few chapters, but it's not a major part of the story right now. Right now, it's just simply about Lucy and bunch of other stuff that is going to happen. I estimate the GaLu will start around chapter 5 or 6. Depends on how everything else falls into place.

If you're wondering why the heck I have Sting listed as a character, you'll find out soon enough. His role in the GaLu romance is what lights the fire, one chapter before the actual romance starts. I can't give away anymore hints about what's coming! Just keep reading, give me some reviews, and enjoy the story! (PLEASE)

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**Disclaimer:** Fairy Tail is not mine, the characters are not mine, Fiore is not mine...nothing is mine *sighs sadly*

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When Lucy awoke, her head was pounding with a force that rivaled a stampede of elephants; that is, if elephants stampeded. Groaning, she rolled over, and found herself falling off a couch. Right before she hit the floor, she felt someone grab her.

"Guys, she's awake!" a male voice called out, much too loudly, and much too close to her aching head.

"Hey, shut up!" she grumbled as she threw her arm over her face, trying to block out the bright overhead lights.

She heard the sound of a door open, followed by footsteps.

"Natsu! Get your hands off her!" a stern female voice yelled,

"Wha-?" she started before she was suddenly colliding with the harsh floor.

"NATSU! THAT DOESN'T MEAN DROP HER!"

"You told me to get my hands off her! You never said put her back on the couch!"

"What was she doing OFF the couch in the first place?" a second male voice joined the conversation

"She woke up and rolled over, and off the couch. So I caught her before she hit the ground!"

"Well your noble deed has gone haywire, because she's on the ground now," another female voice

"Erza, can you help me lift her back onto the couch?" the first female voice asked

"Of course, Mira," it was the second female.

"Can you guys shut up?" it was Lucy's turn to speak. She was back on the couch now, arm still draped over her face, "And can someone shut off the god damn light?"

"Someone's in a pissy mood," the second male voice spoke again

"Gray-" the first female voice, Mira, started but was cut off.

"Probably because you're here, snow-stripper,"

"Natsu! Don't start!" the second female voice also tried, but failed.

"You wanna go flame brain?!"

"Oh it's ON BOXER HEAD!"

"I SAID, CAN YOU GUYS SHUT UP!" amidst the argument, Lucy had stood up, and was now sporting a glare that rivaled Erza and Mira's combined. She watched as all four figures in front of her stopped, and went silent.

Gray and Natsu - Lucy assumed by the fact the pink-headed loudmouth was mid-punch of a dark-haired man wearing only his boxers – immediately sunk to their knees and bowed before her, while Erza and Mira (though not sure which was which, but if she had to guess she'd say the one with long, red hair was Erza and the one with white hair was Mira, based solely on Erza's stance and Mira's motherly gaze) stepped towards her.

"Lucy, are you okay?" Mira asked, lifting a hand to Lucy's elbow to steady the wobbly girl

"I apologize for these buffoons rudeness, I understand if your head is sore right now. You took a chair to the head," Erza stated, while resting a gloved hand on Lucy's shoulder, opposite Mira.

"It's pink-"

"Shut up, Gray!" Erza commanded, shooting him a glare so cold he seemed to freeze in place.

"Can they just leave, for right now. I don't feel like having them around. Levy told me they were loud and I can't take loud noises right now," Lucy spoke in almost a whisper, as she sat back onto the couch, leaning her head in her lap.

Mira sat down beside her, "Oh of course!" and shot her own icy glare at the two boys, who scrambled to their feet and out of the room.

"Is there anything you need? We're in the kitchen part of our room, so nothing is too far away," Mira spoke gently, with a smile on her face; motherly instincts kicking in.

Lucy looked up, and around the room, noticing that it was indeed, a kitchen. In front of her, was a medium sized round table, with about 6 chairs going around it. There was nothing special about it, pretty plane. On the other side of the table, there was a counter, with a sink and cupboards, also very plain. To her right, was a fridge, and beside the fridge there was another door (the same ones Gray and Natsu ran through moments ago), and to her left there was stove, and some more counter space with a toaster and a microwave. It was overall, a simple looking kitchen, but efficient. It was about one-third the size of the one on the Heartfilia Estate, but to Lucy, this one looked a lot nicer.

"Uhm, just some advil and water would be good," Lucy finally spoke, rather shyly, "Thank you," she added, with a small smile on her face.

"Of course dear," Mira said, returning the smile. She got up and made her way to one of the cupboards to look for the advil. While she was doing that, Lucy noticed that Erza had pulled up a chair beside the couch where she was sitting.

"So you're Lucy Heartfilia," the red-haired girl said, "My name is Erza Scarlet," she held out a gloved hand to Lucy. It was then that she noticed that Erza was wearing all sports clothing; white running shoes, blue spandex capris, a tight grey tank top, and white fingerless gloves that went to her elbow. Lucy reached for Erza's hand, and found the woman's grip to be incredibly strong. Trying not to show weakness though, Lucy just smiled through the tight grip, quietly sighing relief when she let go. "Again, I must apologize for Gray and Natsu's behavior. It was rude and ignorant of them, especially since it was Natsu that had thrown the chair that hit you," she grimaced at the memory of the poor blonde girl meeting a chair first, out of everyone there.

"How long was I out for?" Lucy asked, and suddenly she remembered something, "And what does 'FT – MO' on the door mean?"

"You were only out for about 10 minutes. And don't worry about the door sign yet, you'll figure it out one day – that is, if you're ballsy enough to stick around us lot long enough," her voice took a turn for what sounded like a challenge

"Now now Erza, the poor girl just woke up, don't go challenging her with things quiet yet. Give her some time to get to know the group," Mira walked back over to the two other girls, a glass of water in one hand, and two small round tablets in the other. She handed them to Lucy, "here you go, hope it helps quickly. Knowing Natsu and Gray they've gone to find Levy to tell her you're awake! Levy was here for most of the time you were out, but had to run off somewhere minutes before you woke up-" Mira was suddenly cut off by the door flying open and a short blur of blue running into the room.

"Lu-chan you're okay! I'm so sorry you got hit with the chair! I feel like I should have told you to duck BEFORE I opened the door! How's your head feeling? Does it hurt? If it does I'll get you anything you want just say the word and I'll do it-"

"Levy, it's okay. It's not your fault, and no, my head is fine. Just a little sore, Mira gave me some advil, I should be okay in another 10min," she brushed the hair off her face as she took a sip of the water Mira had given her, and when she put the glass down she realized that the three girls in front of her were staring intensely at something on her forehead. "Is there something there?" dread set in suddenly, "Oh no, no...nononononono," Lucy stood up and went to run for the bathroom, before she realized she didn't know where it was, "bathroom?"

All three girls pointed to the door by the fridge, and Erza said "It's in the other room, when you go through that door turn right and it's the first door on your right," Lucy could see the beginnings of a laugh trying to break through Erza's solid demeanor; Levy and Mira already beginning to giggle. Lucy ran out the door in a beeline for the washroom, walking past several other people in the other room who just stared in confusion, not having seen what Lucy was running to the bathroom to see. When she flew through the door, she slammed it shut and locked it behind her. She leaned against the door for a moment, before exhaling deeply and leaning forward to look in the mirror.

What she saw, was truly horrifying to someone like Lucy, not necessarily vain, but with the knowledge they knew they were good looking, and wanting to keep it that way. She pulled her bangs out of the way to get a better look at the giant, blue bruise forming on her forehead. A whimper escaping her lips as she poked the giant lump of sore flesh. A tear rolled down her cheek, smudging the small amount of mascara she was wearing. As quietly as one could sniffle, Lucy sniffled, before turning around, and opening the door.

Levy, Mira and Erza were all standing outside the bathroom door, waiting for Lucy to open the door. When the door opened, nothing could have prepared them for the mayhem that was a crying, sniffling, and babbling Lucy. None of them could make out what the blubbering girl was sobbing into Mira's shoulder, but if one was to guess, it had to do with having the giant blue bruise on her forehead.

"Lu-chan, I'm sure the bruise will go down if you put ice on it. I can go get you some," Levy said, poking the dead-weight body that was sprawled again on the couch in the kitchen.

"I want it gone nooooooooow," she whined, more blubbering and another Kleenex to fix the make-up.

Levy stood up from her chair, and huffed as she walked to the fridge and opened the freezer half, standing on her tip-toes she reached up for the ice tray, missing it by a fraction of an inch. Levy huffed again as she turned around to grab a chair, only to bump into a very large, manly chest.

"oi, Shrimp, what're you doing?" a low voice almost growled at the little blue-haired girl,

"Oh hi, Gajeel! I'm just trying to get ice for Lu-chan. Natsu hit her with a chair when I brought her to meet everyone," she smiled at the tall, almost scary looking man. His hair was just past his shoulder blades, wild, and crazy. A bandana was worn on the man's forehead, keeping most of his hair back, but allowing small strands on each side of his face to fall forward; a face that was covered in quite a few piercings. The man also had the most unnatural – but natural – red eyes. "Did you get your hair cut?" she mused, noticing that the last time she saw him, his hair was almost to his ass.

"Yeah, I did," he stated in a monotone voice, not saying anything else he reached over the blunette in front of him and grabbed the ice tray, dropped it in her hands, then waited for her to move.

Without realizing that she was in his way, Levy stared at the man for a few more minutes, before he cleared his throat with a sudden cough. Startled, she quickly moved out of the way, "sorry! Got distracted!" she laughed awkwardly as she walked over to the counter and rummaged through some drawers before finding a plastic bag to put the ice cubes in.

The tall man just grunted his response, as he reached into the fridge and grabbed a full rack of ribs, and threw them in the oven to heat up. "So who's this Lucy chick blubbering all over the couch?" he asked, sounding more uninterested than interested.

"She's my new best friend; I met her in the library at lunch. She was looking up astrology," Levy said, a cheer in her voice and a skip in her step as she headed towards said girl on the couch. "Here Lucy, have some ice for that bruise," she smiled, as Lucy raised her head from the couch.

She was about to thank Levy for the bag of ice, when her eyes came across a well-built man standing opposite the kitchen from her. His red eyes staring intensely at her, as her honey orbs stared back. Their eyes met for a moment, before the man tore his eyes away; choosing instead to stare awkwardly at the group photo on the fridge, one that had been taken before even he had known these people.

A blush crept up Lucy's neck and cheeks, making her skin almost as red as the man's eyes. She reached for the ice that Levy was still holding for her, "Thanks Levy," she said, trying to hide her face from the blunette, and hoping that the girl had not seen the blush on her face.

Levy just smiled in response, and sat down at the table, facing away from Lucy. Not that it mattered, since Lucy had resumed her faceplant in the couch, but this time with the ice and no blubbering. A mischievous look came across the short girls face, and as Gajeel noticed it, his expression wavered for a split second – almost revealing a blush of his own – before he hardened his stare, and silently willed the blue-haired bookworm to not say anything to Mira, who also liked to play matchmaker. Levy, understanding his silent, almost non-existent plea, in his eyes, only let the mischievous smile grow larger.


	3. Dinner Dates and Friday Night Plans

Chapter 3 is here! I gave away some clues in the last chapter as to what it to come in future chapters, and I'd love to give you more info on where the story is going to go but that would just give everything away! It'll definitely take a few more chapters to get to the Gajeel/Lucy fluff, but it's on its way! For now, enjoy the mayhem!

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** Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail is not mine, the characters are not mine, and Fiore is not mine...nothing is mine *sighs sadly*

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Lucy's first week at Magnolia high went by with a flash. Since the accident on the first day, Natsu had been trying desperately to be friends with Lucy all week, whether he would get the door for her, carry her books to class, keep the boys away from her in the hallways, and he even begged to take her out to dinner.

"Come on Luce, think of it as an apology dinner! Not a date-DEFINITELY not a date!" he begged, day four of Lucy's week.

"Definitely? What is that supposed to mean?!" a horrified expression on her face.

Natsu panicked, always, _always_ he said the wrong things, "NO! Not like that! I'd love to take you on a date! Who wouldn't!?" he tried nervously

"Oh so now it IS a date?" Lucy challenged, hands on her hips, and a stormy expression on her face

"NO! DAMMIT! Let me take you out for dinner! An apology dinner! Just as friends! We could talk, get to know each other, have some good food, have a good tiiiiimmmeeeeee..." his voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, he gave her a crooked grin, hoping it would convince her.

She stared at him for a moment, contemplating the idea. It was only her second day at the school, and only her second time talking to the pink-haired idiot, and already she knew that everywhere he went, he left disaster in his wake. Still, the crooked grin he gave her, and the fact he was trying so hard to make it up to her, she couldn't help herself.

"Okay fine, but just this once!" at the time, she had meant it.

"Woohoo!" he jumped up and fist pumped the air, excitement like electricity surrounding his body. He yelled out his excitement a few more times in the room, before bursting out the door and into the hallway, yelling at the top of his lungs, "I GOT A DATE WITH LUCY! I GOT A DATE WITH LUCY!"

Unfortunately for Lucy, the hallway had been filled with other students as he paraded down the hallway, yelling to the world about their "date". She stuck her head out the door, "IT'S NOT A DATE YOU PINK-HAIRED HOT-HEADED IDIOT!" she yelled after him, turning the heads of all the guys in the hallway. They stared at her, eyes wide, some with sadness, many with jealousy. She shot a glare at the guy closest to her, making him drop the book in his hand, and then she turned back into the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

Their dinner together had gone surprisingly well. Natsu wasn't as much an idiot as she had thought him to be. He may not have the best marks in school, but he could hold a conversation about almost anything, and he was able to understand her body language moments before she even realized it herself. She discovered this when on their way to the restaurant he was taking her too, they had decided to take a short cut through an alley way. The sun was still far from setting, but the buildings left the alley dark and shadowy. Without realizing it, Lucy had moved closer to Natsu and picked up her pace. When Natsu realized it though, he put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze while also picking up his pace. Surprised, Lucy looked up at him, about to ask him how he knew when he cut her off,

"I'm not that stupid, plus, this alley gives me the creeps as well, so come on!" he reached down and grabbed her hand. He gave her his crooked smile, and pulled her into a run.

A few minutes later they made it to the restaurant, gasping for breath and laughing at some comment Natsu had made about a woman and her fur coat they passed at the end of the alley.

When Lucy saw the restaurant he wanted to take her to she gasped, and tried for a good ten minutes to talk him out of it, and opt for the sushi bar across the road instead. Refusing to listen to her, Natsu pushed her into the building, and told the host they were here for their reservation for two, under Dragneel. The host looked down his nose at the two teenagers, red faced and dressed fairly casual, and scoffed before leading them to their table.

"Your waitress will be here to serve you in about five minutes, please, don't dirty where you touch too much," the host said with a snide voice, as he handed them their menus and stalked off.

Lucy looked around the restaurant nervously; it was still early, so there were only two other couples in the entire restaurant. It wasn't the amount of people there that made Lucy nervous though, it was how expensive the restaurant _looked_. "Natsu, you could have at least told me to dress nice, I feel so out of place here in jeans and a t-shirt," she hissed at him, not wanting to talk too loud in fear her voice would break the magnificent chandelier in the middle of the room.

The restaurant looked like something her father would spend most of his time at, being one of the richest men in Fiore definitely had its perks. Lucy began to fear that Natsu wouldn't have enough money to pay for their meal, and she didn't want to embarrass him by having to pay for both of them.

"Don't worry Luce," he said as he pulled out a bag from under the table, "I had this all planned out!" he handed the bag to Lucy; "Mira pulled some strings and left this here for you. It's a different outfit. She left me one too," he smiled at her, "I didn't tell you we were coming here because I wanted it to be a surprise. I hope it's enough, I really am sorry for hitting you with a chair...and then dropping you on the floor," his smile went crooked with embarrassment over the memory.

She returned the awkward smile, "Its fine Natsu, my forehead doesn't hurt anymore anyways. It's not like you knew I was on the other side of the door anyways," she waved her hand as though trying to cool herself down, "as for dropping me, don't worry about that either," she laughed a bit and then looked inside the bag. She shuffled the things around a bit and turned back to Natsu, "Okay. I'll go change, this is better than what I'm wearing now. I don't want anyone to see me here in such ratty clothes, my father's friends come to places like this every night, and if they saw me he'd for sure know that I dared to disgrace the Heartfilia name by looking so wrong," she said, mockery in her voice at what she could imagine her father saying. She giggled a bit before standing up, "I won't be too long," she told him before heading off to the bathroom.

Natsu in turn stood up, and headed to the men's bathroom to also change. Knowing full well that Lucy would indeed, be a long time.

As Lucy walked to the bathroom, her mind wandered to the pink-haired, normally obnoxious idiot. Since they had left the school, he had become quieter, more reserved and he listened to whatever she said. He asked some questions, and answered all of the ones Lucy asked him. He was almost what one would call a gentleman, though he still had his quirks. What Lucy found to be the best part of their night so far was how Natsu seemed more interested in being her friend than trying to get into her pants like most guys; he hadn't asked any questions about her relationship status, and he made no moves to indicate wanting to get closer. When Lucy entered the bathroom, she was shocked to find Mira and Levy standing by the sink with a 2ft tall black...container, of something.

Mira used her toe to press a button on the side of the container, and it popped open, revealing that it was filled with make-up, hair styling tools of every kind imaginable, nail polish bottles by the dozen, and a fold out chair that Levy was setting up.

"Alright Lucy, let's get ready!" Mira said an almost demonic grin on her face as she lunged forward, grabbed the shocked blonde, and strapped her to the chair.

Now, it was Friday and Lucy was headed to the room they always hung out at during lunch. The events of the night before ran through her head and she walked through the crowded hallway. Distracted, she accidentally bumped into someone in front of her,

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't see you and I was distracted," she laughed awkwardly. She went to move around the person but was stopped,

"I don't think an apology will cut it, pretty babe," the voice cut through her mind, reminding her of someone she didn't want to think of. The smile dropped from her face, she tried to move backwards but was stopped by another guy, who reached up and held her in place by her shoulders, "You're looking mighty fine today, and I think I deserve a kiss for an apology,"

Lucy looked up at the guy, and cringed. By no means was he attractive: his greasy mouse-brown hair was too long, his skin looked as though he had a thin layer of grease on it. His cheekbones were too sharp, was his jaw was too square; and his eyes glinted with pervy intent, and the only color to describe them was _shit brown_.

"Uhm, isn't an apology itself just enough?" she asked, hoping desperately to get out of the situation as fast as possible.

"Hmm, and let a kiss from someone like you get away? I don't think so," he started to lean closer to her, and Lucy closed her eyes and cringed, when she suddenly felt a hand grabbing her and pulling her to the side.

"Hey, get your greasy selves away from Lucy," a deep voice rumbled behind her. She opened her eyes and found that her back was pressed to a chest, a very muscular chest at that. A blush started to creep up her face when she realized the man behind her had his arm around her waist, holding her to him.

"Why should we listen to you, metal-face," the guy retorted, moving to reach for Lucy; but before he could reach her she was pushed behind the man's back.

"Because I'll beat your scrawny ass to a pulp, and your friend, and you know it. Don't forget you'd also be pissing off Erza and Mira, not to mention Natsu and Gray," at the mention of Erza and Mira the guy and his friend stepped back, then another step at the sound of Natsu and Gray's names.

"Tch," the shit-eyed guy scowled, "don't worry pretty babe, I'll get that kiss from you," he then grabbed his friend's arm and pushed him away before stalking down the hallway, his friend following in closer pursuit.

Lucy was stunned, as she watched the guy rage down the hallway, pushing anyone and everyone out of his way. She then looked at the guy who saved her from the horror of such a dirt-bag, and gasped. It was the guy she saw in the kitchen on her first day. Another blush crept up her face and she remembered the intense moment their eyes locked, "Uh-uhm...Thanks, uh..." and she realized, she didn't know his name,

"Gajeel," he stated, "My name's Gajeel, and no need to thank me. Erza would be pissed if she found out you were in that situation and I didn't do anything." He started to walk away, but was stopped by the blonde grabbing his arm.

"But I am thanking you," she said, a smile moving onto her face, "are you going to the room today?" she then asked,

"uh..yeah, why?"

"I'll walk with you," her smile brightened, making Gajeel want to smile as well. Instead he turned his head away, harrumphed and kept walking.

'_There is no way I'm going to smile just because she does,'_ he thought to himself as they walked. '_She's too bright and cheerful for me anyways,'_ he looked over at her through his peripheral vision, to see exactly that; a cheerful, bright, bubbly, blonde, smiling for no god damn reason, and a skip in her step. '_She's too happy, and knowing the family she comes from has probably never experienced hardship. So naive and innocent to how shitty this world really his,'_ he mused, thinking of ways that he could possibly pop that bubble of hers, but decided against it. _'Just because I'm sad doesn't mean everyone else around me has to be,'_ he sighed, and realized they had reached their destination.

Before she could open the door, Gajeel reached in front of her and opened it, then motioned for her to go through first, "Thank you, Gajeel, again," directing her smile towards him as she passed by and into the room.

"Don't mention it," he mumbled, "seriously don't," he shifted his gaze to look elsewhere, in hopes to get the blonde's heart-warming smile and caring eyes off his mind. He went and sat down in the corner of the room in a giant, deep-red lazy boy, where he threw his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. He wasn't expecting sleep though, the room was always too noisy and rowdy at lunch thanks to pinky and stripper, but the illusion that he was relaxed kept most people from bugging him too much.

Lucy sat down on a giant bean bag chair near the centre of the room, but before she could pull out her lunch, the door flew open and Levy, Mira, and Erza came crashing through at warp speed, crashing into Lucy and squishing her deep into the furthest reaches of the bean bag chair she was on. After flailing all over the place and trying desperately to get air she threw the three girls off her and rolled off the death trap,

"HOW WAS THE DINNER-"

"WHERE DID YOU GO-"

"DID IT TURN OUT ROMANTIC-"

The three friends screamed questions a Lucy, who was still lying on the ground. Irritated, she stood up and faced the three,

"Shut up already, jesus. Mira, Levy, you know exactly how it went since you were there spying the entire time even though you said you'd leave once you finished dolling me up. Erza, to answer your question, we went to Alevander's – yes, that ridiculously expensive place down town. If you have any more questions, just ask Levy and Mira," Lucy brushed off her skirt before reaching to pick up her lunch and re-settling herself on the bean bag chair.

Erza retained the shocked expression on her face as she looked over at Mira and Levy, who both were sporting shameful smiles.

"You went spying?" Erza's voice deepening an anger, "and you didn't bring me? AND you went and dolled up Lucy? WITHOUT ME?" her voice got higher as she spoke further, hurt evident on her face that her friends would go on such an adventure and leave her behind,

"Erza! Don't be hurt, we just..uh...you're not very good at spying-uh, and-" Levy started

"Yeah! Plus, no one really knows how good you are with make-up, since we've never seen you with make-up," Mira added, she was grinning awkwardly, and when she opened her eyes she saw the sad look on Erza's face, "but if you want we can teach you everything you need to know!"

"It's not that hard to learn, we could have a girl's night out! All four of us! And we could doll you up! Then we could go to the Underground and you'll run into Jellal," Levy suggested, adding a wink at the end of her sentence.

Erza looked up at the two girls, a smile forming on her face, "I don't know, I've never worn make-up and I don't think it would be something that goes with my face, no matter how you put it,"

Lucy chimed in then, "No worries Erza, I know exactly what kind of make-up we could do for you, and if there's a boy involved, I have the PERFECT dress you could wear. After we hit the mall we can go to my place and get ready there, I don't normally like people seeing where I live, but I can make an exception this one time," she gave Erza her biggest smile, then turned to Levy, "What's the Underground?"

Everyone in the room stopped, having forgotten that Lucy hasn't been to the Underground yet, or even heard of it.

"Oh my god! We haven't brought you there yet! Tonight would be perfect to take you anyways! Makarov should be there, I know he's been dying to meet you since I told him about you on Monday night before he left. He's a different character, but don't let his weirdness get to you," Mira started gushing about how great the Underground was, as well as everyone else.

Though there was one thing everyone left out, knowing only Makarov could explain it to Lucy. It was the secret that made the Underground, underground. Though the Underground wasn't the real name of the building, it was what members were supposed to call it on the outside. The real name of the hang out, was Fairy Tail.


End file.
